The network brings together delegates responsible for sports activities in Italian universities, aiming to enhance the potential of university sports as an effective and cross-disciplinary tool for education, research, innovation, and the improvement of well-being and the overall university experience.
The Politecnico has been a member since the network ’s foundation. Professor Marco Barla is currently an elected member of the network’s coordination committee.
Launched in 2019 through a collaboration between IN/Arch Piemonte, Etica e Sport, and Politecnico di Torino, Places for Sport is an annual event designed to foster dialogue on sports facilities through roundtable discussion with key stakeholders.
Places for Sport also includes a biennial award that recognizes projects and achievements based on ethics, innovation, and research. The award is open to designers, public and private clients, and companies involved in the design and/or construction of sports facilities, recreational sports spaces, and public areas dedicated to physical activity.
The award includes three categories:
- Sports facilities – structures dedicated to competitive and amateur sports
- Spaces for sport – areas and pathways promoting movement culture and recreational physical activity, including outdoor spaces
- Theses or research projects
The initiative aims to promote effective strategies and synergies among the various actors involved in sports project development (public and private entities, associations, companies, and professionals in architecture and engineering), and to identify the most suitable methodological processes to ensure the timely, transparent, and successful realization of well-designed, well-built, accessible, and user-friendly sports facilities.